MACOMB, Ill. - The Leathernecks most recently picked up a 68-46 victory at home over North Dakota right before a small break...The men's basketball team will continue its home schedule Tuesday, playing host to Eureka College at 7:30 p.m...The men's game will follow the Leatherneck women's game against Williams Woods in Western Hall.

The Breakdown
Who: Western Illinois (5-4) vs. Eureka (5-4)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Macomb, Illinois
Arena: Waste Management Court inside of Western Hall (5,139)
Live Stats: HERE

Radio
Leatherneck Sports Network (88.3 FM)
Radio Talent: Beau Spencer (play-by-play) & Adam Studzinski (color)
Listen HERE

Video
Rocky Vision
Video Talent: Aaron Viner (play-by-play) & Andrew Jones (color)
Watch HERE

A LOOK AT EUREKA COLLEGE: The Eureka Red Devils, who are a part of the NCAA Division III and the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), enter Tuesday night's game with a 5-4 overall mark...The Red Devils most recently fell to Rose-Hulman...The Eureka College men's basketball team trailed by one possession at halftime at Rose-Hulman, but the Fightin' Engineers slowly pulled away from the Red Devils in the second half to earn a 92-70 victory at Hulbert Arena in Terre Haute, Ind.  Eureka's defeat snaps a four-game winning streak...So far this season, four Red Devil players are averaging in the double-figures: Fritsch (18.9), Nailor (12.7), Kindred (12.0), and Lessen (10.9)...Eureka is coached by Chip Wilde who is in the midst of his fifth season.

THE SERIES: Tuesday night's game between Eureka and Western is the 24th meeting between the two teams...Western holds the all-time series 16-7...The two teams last played at the beginning of the 2008-09 season with the Leathernecks picking up a 75-57 victory.

WHAT'S IN A WIN?: A win would mark the team's 1,190th victory in program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari's 35th victory at Western, and 258th career victory.

5-OF-7 A WIN: The Leathernecks earned their fifth win in seven games last Tuesday, something the program had not done since the end of the 2009-10 season.

6-OF-8 A WIN: If the Leathernecks are able to pick up a victory Tuesday evening, they would have won six of their last eight games, something the program has not done since the 2001-02 season.

ONE-POINT LOSS: The Leathernecks have lost a total of four games this season, two of which were decided by one point...One of Western's other losses, to Michigan on the road, was decided by only four points.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: In two the Leathernecks' games, back-to-back games, the team had committed less than six turnovers...Five versus Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10th, and six against UIC on Dec. 19th...Last season the Leathernecks played back-to-back games with only 11 turnovers, committing only four on Dec. 8th against Culver Stockton and seven at Eastern Illinois Dec. 11th.

TOP-TEN NATIONALLY: Current through Dec. 18th, junior forward Terell Parks ranks 6th in the nation in field goal percentage for the second straight week with a 66.7 percentage...Earlier this season in the NCAA's release of stats on Nov. 27th, freshman forward Obi Emegano ranked third nationally with a 74.1 percentage.

FROM DOWNTOWN: Senior point guard Ceola Clark III has shot 45 three-pointers this season and made 23 of them for a 51.1 percentage...On Dec. 10th against Eastern Illinois, Clark tied a Western Illinois single-game record by making six consecutive from beyond the arch...In Western's following game at UIC on Dec. 19th, Clark hit his first four threes of the game, and missed only one, going 4-for-5 from downtown...He then made 4-of-6 the following game against North Dakota on Dec. 22...In games played through Dec. 19th, his three-point field goal percentage ranks 33rd in the nation.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior forward Terell Parks leads the Leathernecks with four double-doubles this season...Parks is the only Leatherneck to have recorded a double-double on the year...After his 14 points and 15 rebounds against NDSU on Dec. 1st, Parks has continued to average a double-double per game, 13.1 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game.

SWIPIN' AND DISHIN': Senior point guard Ceola Clark III has been racking up assists and steals  since the beginning of his career at Western...He currently sits second in career steals with 149, and 12th in career assists with 228.

DISHIN' (CONTINUED): Prior to Western's game versus UIC on Dec. 19th, senior point guard Ceola Clark III has averaged 5.2 assists per game, which ranks 56th nationally.

DOUBLE-FIGURES: Junior forward Terell Parks, senior guard Ceola Clark III, and freshman forward Obi Emegano have been a force in the scoring department for Western this season...Parks has scored in the double-figures in all but one game so far this season, Clark has scored 10 or more in six of the team's nine games this season, and Emegano has finished in double-digits five times this season.

AS A TEAM IN THE NATION: In games through Dec. 18th, as a team, the Leathernecks rank in the top-100 of six categories...Those include 42nd in personal fouls per game (16.4), 53rd in scoring defense (60.4), 66th in turnovers per game (12.6), 78th in free throw percentage (71.6), 89th in field goal percentage (45.8), and 95th in assist turnover ratio (1.06).

MORE IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: In games through Dec. 21st, senior guard Ceola Clark's 6-of-7 (82.7%) of behind the arch on Dec.10th vs. Eastern Illinois is the best single-game percentage in the Summit League...Junior forward Terell Parks' two 15-rebound single-game performances (vs. Greenville College on Nov. 22 and vs. NDSU Dec. 1) rank second in the league...As a team, Western's 54-rebound  performance in their game versus Greenville on Nov. 22 is a Summit League best...Their single-game low of five turnovers versus Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10th is a league best.
 
GRABBIN' BOARDS: Junior forward Terell Parks has pulled down a team-best 91 rebounds  this season (10.1 per game)...26 of them offensive and 65 of them defensive...He has been the top rebounder in all but one game this season, and pulled down a season-high 15 twice, first on Nov. 22 vs. Greenville, and then on Dec. 1 vs. North Dakota State...In games played through December 23rd, he ranks in the top five of all Summit League rebounding categories: first in overall rebounds (10.1 per game), first in defensive rebounds (7.2 per game) and fourth in offensive rebounds (2.9 per game).

MORE PARKS ON THE GLASS: Through December 18th, Parks' 10.1 rebounds per game also ranks tied for 21st nationally.

MAKING 'EM COUNT: Both junior Terell Parks, freshman guard Remy Roberts-Burnett, and freshman Obi Emegano have been making the most of their shot attempts this season...Emegano and Parks have taken a team-high 72 shots...Parks has made 47 of them for a 65.3 shooting percentage...Emegano has made 40 of them for a team-best 55.6 shooting percentage...Roberts-Burnett has taken 57 shots and made 30 of them for a 52.6 shooting percentage...Parks ranks second in the Summit League, Emegano ranks sixth, and Roberts-Burnett ranks 11th...Through December 18th, both Parks (#6) and Emegano (#20) ranked in the top-20 nationally.

LEADING THE WAY: Leading the Leathernecks in points per game is junior forward Terell Parks who are each averaging 13.3 points per game...The only other Western players that are averaging double-figures is senior guard Ceola Clark III (12.4) and freshman forward Obi Emegano (11.9)...Clark owns the most assists on the team with 39 (4.9 per game)...Clark (23) has connected on the most three-point shots this season...Parks' 10.1 rebounds per game is a team-best...Parks also leads the team in field goal percentage, having made 47-of-72 (65.3 percent) from the floor...Clark leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (51.1), Tyler leads the team in free throw percentage, having made 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) from the stripe...Seniors Clark and Tyler are averaging the most minutes per game having averaged 36.1 and 32.3 minutes, respectively.

#wiuathletics